The Other (Harder) Side of the Dignity Lesson

Photo Credit: Jamie Lynn Photography

Before I continue with biblical examples on the theme of Bestowing Dignity, I want to share the other - harder - side of the lesson I learned while in Mexico.

During the same tour on which God whispered the words bestow dignity, He also taught me a more difficult truth.  Carmen, our tour guide, was sharing some stories with us of kids who have left the orphanage only to make really bad choices with their lives*.  For example, there are girls who leave the very safe, dignified environment of the FFHM campus and go straight out to find a man.  The thought process here is that if she has a man's baby, he will then take care of her and she will be set for life.  Never mind the fact this has worked for almost no woman in the entire country.  So, off goes the 18 year old, she finds her man, produces a baby, and then finds herself left to fend for herself and her baby on her own.  Thus continues the cycle of poverty, abuse, and brokenness.

When our tour guide shared this very real example scenario, I felt a bit flabbergasted and even began to internally question the work being done with the orphaned kids living at FFHM.  In my very American thinking, A plus B automatically equals C...every single time, right?  In other words, take a child out of poverty and abuse (A), raise them with the love of Jesus, bestow dignity upon them, and meet all their needs (B), and automatically, they will become a fine, upstanding adult who makes wise and safe choices with their life and will walk the "straight and narrow" for the rest of their life (C).

With this mindset, I could not comprehend the fact that ANY of the kids rescued from abuse, neglect, and slavery to be raised instead at the orphanage -- especially THIS orphanage -- would go out to make such foolish choices!  (The girls are not the only ones, by the way.  There are boys who go out from their orphanage home and make foolish choices, too.)  In my linear, American thinking, I began to wonder if the orphanage staff and house parents were perhaps doing something WRONG in their raising and management of the kids.  I also became critical of the kids themselves.

These kids are given EVERYTHING they need for a safe, happy existence: safe shelter, loving house parents, 3 square meals a day, clean clothes, a high-quality education, and job-skills training.  How could they be anything but thankful?  How could they do anything but live out the remainder of their lives demonstrating this gratitude by becoming responsible, healthy, productive adults who love the Lord and live the "right" way?  Truly, I was shocked!  I had a very high and lofty impression of what should result for the kids who grow up in the orphanage.

God used Carmen's stories to knock that lofty impression right back down to earth!  And, boy-howdy, did it sting!

As the tour moved on to the sewing room, and these critical, unfriendly thoughts were stewing around in my brain, the Holy Spirit spoke so clearly into my heart it was almost audible.  This is what He said, "Crista, do not dare stand in judgement over these girls.  YOU are thinking from the perspective of privilege and plenty.  You have NO IDEA what these girls have been through.  You have NO IDEA what influences have shaped their thinking and beliefs.  You have NO RIGHT to judge them or their choices.  I AM their judge."

Oh wow.  Kick to the gut.

Amazingly my spirit responded, "Okay.  You're right.  I'm sorry."

Also amazingly, for the remainder of my week very few more of these critical thoughts crossed my mind.  Instead, my thoughts were dominated by all the examples for the positive side of the lesson...all that God's people are doing in the Baja to bestow dignity on others in the manner of Christ and His earthly ministry.

But back to the Hard Side of this lesson.

As we left the sewing room and continued with the tour, I began to comprehend a new truth regarding this bestowing of dignity.  It is the responsibility (and joy) of the follower of Christ to do the bestowing, whenever and however we can bestow it.  Whether it be the homeless, the family-less, the disabled, the addicted, the abused, the neglected, the hungry, the cold, the broken, the sick, the imprisoned or anyone else, MY job is to respond to the Lord as He leads me in His work of bestowing dignity on others.

What the recipient does with the dignity is between him or her and God.

My job is to bestow and let go.  When I stand before His throne in Heaven, God will hold me accountable for how well I listened to His voice and obeyed.

The other person will stand before Him and give account for what they did with the dignity bestowed upon them by God through His people working on His behalf.

In other words, what the other person does with the dignity bestowed has nothing to do with me.

This truth applies in pretty much every area of my life, most notably as a mom and as a member and partaker in community.  My responsibility is to know and obey God's commands.

As a mom, I am called to love my children and to raise them in the wisdom and instruction of the Lord.  What if I do that, and they still end up living rebelliously or making really bad choices as adults?  They will stand before God to give account for their choices.  I will stand before Him to give account for mine.

As a Christian member of the community, I am called to love, to share, to give generously and not to hoard for myself.  What if God asks me to give money to the man or woman in need and then they use it to buy drugs?  He or she will stand before God and give account for the blessing they received from His hand through one of His followers.  I will stand before Him to give account for my choice to obey Him in being generous.

As a Christian, I am also called to unashamedly proclaim the Gospel:

In this is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.  (1 John 4:10, MEV)

What if I share this truth, proclaim it from the rooftops with all gentleness, kindness, and patience and STILL a person rejects Jesus?  God will hold me accountable for obedience: did I take every opportunity to make the Good News known?  God will hold them accountable for how they responded to Him.

During my week in Mexico and since I've been home, God has been systematically shattering my linear, American thinking process regarding the matter of following Jesus in loving and serving others.  Here are a few of the sub-lessons I learned:

1.  God's economy does not operate by the same rules as the American economy.  Case in point: the parable of the shepherd who leaves the flock of 99 to find the 1 who went missing.  All the angels in heave rejoiced over the 1 recovered lamb.  (Matthew 18:12-14)

2.  We live in a broken world, so the equation is broken, too.  There are instructions in the Bible for how to raise children.  These instructions are wise and are given for the benefit of both the parents and the child.  However, we live in a broken world, so I can, as a mom, do everything "right" and still end up having a child who rebels, makes bad choices as an adult, or walks away from the faith. There are a great many promises made to those who obey God, but my children have freewill, too. There are things I can do now to up the odds that my children will grow up to love and follow Jesus as adults, but I cannot guarantee it.

Ultimately, God will ask me how well I listened to and obeyed Him.  He will ask my adult children the same question about their own lives.

3.  We are ALL worthy of dignity, no matter what.  Jesus lowered Himself by taking on the form of a man.  He lived a life of near poverty in order to serve and minister to others.  He allowed His reputation to be marred by the company he kept: "tax collectors and sinners" so that those with whom He kept company might be redeemed.  He died in the most undignified way possible in that day-and-age: crucifixion.  He died a criminal's death, though He committed no crime.  Why?

To restore our dignity by restoring our relationship with God.

Humans were created in God's image.  This sets us above animals (Genesis 1:26) and even above angels (Hebrews 1:1-14).  When sin entered the world, humanity was stripped of our dignity by losing our special relationship with God.  Jesus' death and resurrection restore our dignity by making us right with God.

And what qualifies us to receive this dignity from Him?

Simply this: we are created in the image of God.

That's it.

That's all.

That's the only qualification.

Were you born?  Then you are made in the image of God and worthy of being treated with dignity.

Are you alive and breathing?  Then you are made in the image of God and worthy of being treated with dignity.

No matter what else describes us as individuals, we all have THIS in common:

God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.   (Genesis 1:27, NASB) 

So who deserves to be treated by me with dignity?

Everyone.


Why do they deserve to be treated with dignity?

Because God created them in His image.


I find myself feeling much more compassionate toward those I see begging on the corners and toward those who have and are making foolish choices with their lives.  I can know that their choices are foolish, hurtful, or destructive and still treat them in a dignified way.

I will end with this powerful exchange between Jesus and some religious leaders:

“Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’

“Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 

“The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’”

(Matthew 25:34-40)

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*Note: There are many more stories of kids who have gone on from the orphanage to do great things and to live wonderfully dignified lives, loving Jesus and others, and raising healthy families of their own.  I think God prompted Carmen to share these harder stories in order to teach the full lesson I needed to learn: Bestow Dignity.  Let God handle the results.